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Prevalence of uterine myomas in women in Germany: data of an epidemiological study

  • General Gynecology
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Abstract

Purpose

Currently, no reliable data are available concerning the prevalence of uterine myomas in Germany. In this prospective study, we examined the prevalence of myomas in women older than 30 years by means of vaginal ultrasound.

Methods

2296 women, who consented to the procedure, were examined by means of vaginal ultrasound for the presence of myomas in seven gynaecological outpatient departments in Germany.

Results

Prevalence: myomas were detected in 41.6 % of all women. Age dependence: With increasing age, the prevalence of uterine myomas rose from 21.3 % (30–35 years) to 62.8 % (46–50 years). Later, the number of myomas decreased again from 56.1 % (51–55 years) to 29.4 % in women older than 55 years. Menarche/BMI: no correlation could be found between the age at first menstrual period or the body mass index and the occurrence of myomas. Parity: since the group of nulliparous women and the group of women with more than four deliveries stand out by increased occurrence of myomas, a non-linear correlation seems to exist, necessitating more in-depth discussion with regard to age dependency.

Conclusions

The results of this study suggest that more than 40 % of women over 30 years of age suffered from myomas and more than 50 % of all women in Germany may develop uterine myomas at some time in their life.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Praxis für Frauenheilkunde und Klinische Forschung, Halberstädter Str. 122, 39112, Magdeburg, Germany

    Hans-Joachim Ahrendt

  2. Praxis für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe, Leipziger Straße 45B, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany

    Heike Tylkoski

  3. Universitäts-Frauenklinik, Voßstr. 9, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany

    Thomas Rabe

  4. Praxis für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe, Ritterbrunnen 7, 38100, Brunswick, Germany

    André Szczes

  5. Frauenarztpraxis, Schalaunische Straße 6-7, 06366, Köthen (Anhalt), Germany

    Cornelia Friedrich

  6. Institut für Biometrie und Medizinische Informatik (IBMI), Medizinische Fakultät der, Universität, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany

    Friedrich-Wilhelm Roehl & Ann Kitay

  7. Klinik für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe am EVK Köln-Weyertal, Weyertal 76, 50931, Cologne, Germany

    Thomas Roemer

  8. MVZ PAN-Institut für Endokrinologie und Reproduktionsmedizin, Zeppelinstr. 1, 50667, Cologne, Germany

    Dolores Foth

Authors
  1. Hans-Joachim Ahrendt
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  2. Heike Tylkoski
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hans-Joachim Ahrendt.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The data were collected between 01/12/2011 and 31/03/2013 in seven representative gynaecological practice offices in Germany: Ahrendt, Magdeburg; Tylkoski, Magdeburg; Friedrich, Köthen; Szczes, Braunschweig; Lesny, Hamburg; Reindl, Magdeburg; Schmidt-Pich and Partner, Hannover.

Ethical standards

The study has been approved by the appropriate ethics committee (Ethics Committee of Saxony-Anhalt) and has therefore been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. All persons gave their informed consent prior to their inclusion in the study.

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Ahrendt, HJ., Tylkoski, H., Rabe, T. et al. Prevalence of uterine myomas in women in Germany: data of an epidemiological study. Arch Gynecol Obstet 293, 1243–1253 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-015-3930-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-015-3930-8

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